How Fast Rats Reproduce
WouterRats are known for their remarkable multiplication skills. In just six hours, a female rat can mate and produce hundreds of offspring. Female rats reach sexual maturity three to four months after birth. Rats live for about three years. If you have a rat problem, you need to act fast to stop the rodent population from spreading and causing a mess.
Rats are extremely easy to breed. They can reproduce as soon as eight to nine weeks old. During this time, female rats can mate up to 500 times. It’s important to separate the sexes before this age to avoid unwanted litters. Female rats are in heat constantly during this period, usually in the evening. During the course of one year, one female can produce up to eight litters. During the breeding season, female rats will come into heat every four to five days. They may also become pregnant twice during the year.
The gestation period for a female rat is about 22 days. This may vary slightly. The postpartum period is about 28 days. The average litter size is between six and thirteen pups. A pregnant rat can see and feel her pups moving inside her. The mammary glands will also expand at this time.
Rats can quickly multiply and become a major problem in a home. Rentokil Steitech has created an interactive infographic that helps viewers visualize the speed at which a single rat can breed. The infographic shows that a pair of rats can produce as many as 1,250 individual rats in a year. Clearly, that’s an incredible rate.
